When Lucia, the young daughter of Victor Castro-Quiroga, manager of our Newcastle restaurant, Caffè Vivo, was discovered to have a rare, incurable, kidney disease, we felt compelled to do something.

The result was Chefs United, a motley crew of some of the country’s finest chefs. Not only were they prepared to bare their knees for charity in the Great North Run (Newcastle to South Shields), the world’s biggest half marathon, but also to put aside football rivalry to create a gourmet, fund-raising dinner at St James' Park, Newcastle United’s home ground.